President Donald Trump responded on Tuesday to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s criticism, claiming that the United States was being “humiliated” by Iran. The president’s retort questioned Merz’s geopolitical knowledge, claiming that the chancellor thinks it is permissible for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, which, Trump believes, is unquestionably wrong.
“The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social account. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! If Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, the whole World would be held hostage.”
Trump then offered a reminder as to why he decided to engage in a military operation against Iran, stating that his decision to do so is something other world leaders “should have done long ago.”
“I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago,” Trump said. “No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise!”
Trump’s response to Merz came after comments he made earlier on Monday while addressing students at a school in Marsberg, Germany.
“The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” said Merz.
“An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards,” he added. “And so I hope that this ends as quickly as possible.”
HOUSE LAWMAKERS TO WATCH AS GOP LEADERSHIP TRIES TO PASS FISA EXTENSION
Merz then questioned whether the U.S. had any legitimate strategy in the war, comparing the modern-day situation to military conflicts in the Middle East that the U.S. was involved in during the early 21st century, Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The Iranians are clearly stronger than expected and the Americans clearly have no truly convincing strategy in the negotiations either,” said Merz. “The problem with conflicts like this is always: You don’t just have to get in, you have to get out again. We saw that very painfully in Afghanistan for 20 years. We saw it in Iraq.”